Youth mentoring scheme celebrates milestone moment

LOCAL youth charity, 4 Youth (SW), has celebrated a milestone moment for its youth mentoring scheme.

For the first time, the scheme linked mentors – volunteers from the local and wider community trained by the charity – with young people at Melksham Oak Community School in need of guidance about work and education prospects. 

The mentoring period came to a conclusion recently, and to celebrate, chair of the 4 Youth (SW) Trust, Jon Hubbard, presented students with certificates, confirming their successful completion of the scheme.  

“Their 4 Youth mentors watched with pride as each student accepted their certificate,” said Keith Clover, scheme co-ordinator. “The launch of the mentoring scheme at the tail end of the pandemic was a bold move. 4Y have worked tirelessly to get the project off the ground and have identified and trained 10 mentors to deliver the scheme. Melksham Oak have also co-ordinated the work of the scheme with students and without Mr Bound the scheme would not have taken off.” 

15-year-old Lily Baker, who plays for Melksham Town FC U18s Ladies’ team, told Melksham News that the support from her mentor, Jim Ryan, had helped her to decide on pursuing a career in football coaching. 

She said, “Jim helped me explore what I want to do in the future when I leave school.”   

Another student said that the mentor matches had ‘identified lots of things that I could do after leaving school’; whilst another said that their mentor had ‘raised my confidence in my academic ability’. 

Now that the scheme has established itself, it is planned for a new set of mentor matches in September and further growth of the scheme by linking with Wiltshire College on their Lackham site. 

To enquire about becoming a 4 Youth mentor please contact: hello@youngmelksham.org.uk